SkiWelt

The SkiWelt is Austria's largest interconnected ski area. It has 90 Cable car lifts and Ski lifts, 280 Kilometers (173 Miles) of Ski Pistes, and 77 Ski Huts. The member villages are: Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Kelchsau, Scheffau, Söll and Westendorf. Lifts There are: 15 Cable cars 18 Detachable chairlifts 18 Chairlifts 19 Drag lifts 20 Practice lifts As of 2018-19 season, these are all of the current ski lifts. History 1946 Establishment of the Westendorf Ski Lifts, the oldest company in the SkiWelt. They experienced serious difficulties in the postwar years concerning the construction costs and the amount of materials determined by the authorities 1947 Establishment of the Hopfgarten Ski Lifts. The longest chairlift in Europe (2,830m) was built in 1954, however the top station and two supports were destroyed by an avalanche. 1948 Construction of the "Alpenrosenlift" - then Austria's biggest ski lift (2,205m long) In the winter of 1948/49, a total of 22,289 winter sports enthusiasts were transported 1950-1960 1952 Establishment of a ski school in Westendorf 1954 Installation of the "Stricklift" drag lift in Westendorf 1959 Establishment of the Söll Ski Lifts and construction of the "Angeralm" drag lift 1960-1970 1960 The "Stricklift" drag lift was converted into a double T-bar 1961 Construction of the "Zieplhöfe" drag lift in Westendorf 1962 Establishment of the Scheffau ski lift company (Schilift Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser GesmbH) by 66 citizens of Scheffau. 1964 Construction of the "Kandleralm" drag lift in Brixen 1965 Construction of the Söll-Hochsöll single chairlift and the Hochsöll drag lift 1966 Hopfgarten buys its first "Ratrak" snow groomer Construction of the "Salvenmoos" drag lift in Hopfgarten 1967 Construction of the "Knolln" drag lift 1968 Transportation of the 2,000,000th passenger on the Hohe Salve lift Construction of the "Stöckl" drag lift in Söll 1969 Construction of the "Taklaser" drag lift and the "Alpenrose II" single chair lift in Westendorf Chairlift at SkiWelt Hopfgarten Chairlift at SkiWelt Hopfgarten 1970-1980 1970 Establishment of the development company "Erschließungsgesellschaft Ellmau GmbH", Construction of the "Sonnberg" lifts in Brixen Construction of the single chair lift on the Hohe Salve in Söll 1971 Construction of the "Hartkaiserbahn" funicular in Ellmau Establishment of the Scheffau Lift Company (Bergbahn Scheffau am Wilder Kaiser GesmbH) Westendorf Lift Company holds a third of the company. 1971/72 First billing for travel between Hopfgarten and Söll. No adjustment payments made Construction of the "Rinner" drag lift in Söll 1972 Opening of the "Hartkaiserbahn" funicular in Ellmau Construction of the "Alpenrose 1B" chairlift in Westendorf Construction of the double chairlift "Scheffau – Brandstadl" section I and section II, Construction of the temporary mountain restaurant, construction of the "Ostlift", construction of the "Eiberglift" 1972/73 Weekly ticket valid between Scheffau and Ellmau 1973 Construction of the "Laubkogel" drag lift in Westendorf Construction of the "Aualmlift" in Scheffau 1973/74 Tickets valid between Scheffau and Brixen – individual tickets paid in cash, with account settlement 1974 Introduction of a 7-day greater-area ski pass valid at Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Scheffau and Söll, no offsetting 1975 Construction of the "Fleiding" chairlift in Westendorf Construction of the Söll-Hochsoll double chairlift Construction of the "Südlift", Construction of the "Weissachlift", Construction of the building at the chairlift bottom station in Scheffau 1977 Amalgamation to create the greater ski area "Wilder Kaiser - Brixental", and first sales of all tickets, from single to season tickets, for the greater ski area, without offsetting Construction of the new "Brandstadl" mountain restaurant in Scheffau 1978 Seal of approval for slope quality is awarded Construction of the "Grundried" drag lift 1980-1990 1980 Construction of the "Ostlift II", Construction of the "Eiberglift II" in Scheffau 1982 Construction of the "Windauberg" and "Gampenkogel" drag lifts in Westendorf Construction of the "Muldenlift" in Scheffau 1984 Construction of the "Brandstadlbahn" gondola in Scheffau 1985 Conclusion of a pooling agreement with ride offsetting between the villages of Brixen im Thale, Hopfgarten, Itter, Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau, Going and Westendorf (had just joined the greater ski area). 10% share agreed on. Installation of readers and ticket counters for SkiWelt billing in Scheffau Construction of the "Pendelbahn" lift and "Silleralm" three-seater chairlift in Söll With the construction of the Silleralm hut, the installation of the "Filzboden" drag lift provided a direct connection from Söll to Scheffau via Brixen 1986 Construction of the Hochbrixen gondola in Brixen Operation of the "Itter – Kraftalm" double chair lift and the "Kasbichl" double chair lift in Itter Due to a lack of snow in the winters of the 1980s, SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental acquired its first snowmaking equipment 1987 Installation of the first snowmaking system in Brixen Construction of the first "bubble" - the four-seater chairlift on the Zinsberg in Brixen Construction of the "Alpenrosenbahn", a 6-seater monocable gondola in two sections in Westendorf Construction of the "Hochalmlift" in Scheffau 1988 Construction of the "Söll-Hochsöll" gondola, the "Stöckl" 4-seater chairlift and the "Salvenmoos" double chair in Söll Construction of the "Aualmbahn" lift, Construction of the "Osthangbahn" lift, Construction of the new "Ostlift" in Scheffau 1989 Installation of the snowmaking system on the valley run in Ellmau Construction of the "Taklaser" 4-seater chairlift (replacing the drag lift) in Westendorf Installation of the snowmaking system in Hochsöll and purchase of the first diesel snow cannon Inauguration of the "Salvista gondola" in Itter and 40th anniversary celebration of the Hohe Salve Lift Company. 1990-2000 1990 Name of the greater ski area changed from Wilder Kaiser-Brixental to SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental First snowmaking system at Stöckl – Salvenmoos – Rinner, supplied by the Stampfangerbach stream and purchase of 6 Crystal snow cannons in Hopfgarten 1991 Construction of the "Eibergbahn I + II" lift in Scheffau 1991/95 Installation of the snowmaking system in Westendorf 1992 Construction of the reservoir and installation of the snowmaking system in Scheffau 1993 Construction of the mid boarding point for the "Fleiding" three-seater lift in Westendorf 1994/95 The Scheffau Lift Company acquires an interest in the Brixen-im-Thale Lift Company 1995 Construction of the "Keat" detachable 4-seater chairlift and "Rinner" 4-seater chairlift in Söll "Keat - Grundried" snowmaking system and purchase of 15 fully automatic snow cannons in Söll Construction of the "Jochbahn" lift in Brixen 1996 Valley run snowmaking up to the mountain in Scheffau 1997 Introduction of a Kitzbühel Alps 6-day pass with offsetting for approx. 260 lifts Merger of "Goinger und Ellmauer GmbH" into "Sportcenter Ellmau-Going GmbH" Installation of the snowmaking system for Silleralm – Antlasseealm – Angeralm valley run in Söll Construction of the Lechen and Inner-Keat reservoirs in Söll Construction of the "Muldenbahn" lift in Scheffau Construction of the "Kälbersalvbahn" lift in Brixen 1998 Construction of the "Kreuzjöchl" reservoir in Westendorf and expansion of the snowmaking system Construction of the "Südhangbahn" lift, snowmaking on remaining valley run. Construction of the Kaiserland building in Scheffau 1999 First reservoir on the Hartkaiser with pumping station for the snowmaking systems in Ellmau Founding of the tourist board "Wilder Kaiser-Brixental Tourismus GmbH" by the tourist associations and ski lift companies of the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental. The tourist board (Tourismus GmbH) looks after the marketing agendas of its shareholders. 2000 - 2010 2000 Construction of the Hohe Salve gondola in Söll Installation of the "Grundried – Hohe Salve – Rigi" snowmaking system in Söll Construction of the "Köglbahn" 6-seater chairlift in Ellmau Construction of the "Foisching" 8-seater chairlift in Hopfgarten Renovation of the Free Flow mountain restaurant and raising of the reservoir in Scheffau 2001 Replacement of the "Windauberg" and "Gampenkogel" drag lifts with modern 4-seater chairlifts in Westendorf 2002 Construction of the "Brandstadl" 8-seater monocable gondola, bottom lift station and parking deck (buffet conversion, Sternbar) in Scheffau Construction of the Filzalmsee reservoir in Brixen 2003 Replacement of the "Schneeberg I + II" drag lifts with a 4-seater chairlift with child safety bars in Westendorf Construction of the "Kaiserexpress" 4-seater chairlift in Ellmau Construction of the "Filzbodenbahn" lift in Brixen 2004 Construction of the "Hexen6er" detachable 6-seater chairlift in Ellmau Construction of the "KaiserWelt" play area (playground at the Brandstadl mountain restaurant and in the forest) in Scheffau 2005 Construction of the "KiWest" 8-seater monocable gondola and a ski run with snowmaking to Aschau, connection to the Kitzbühel ski area Construction of the "Kummereralmbahn" 6-person detachable chairlift and snowmaking on the slope in Scheffau 2006 Construction of the "Tanzboden" 6-seater chairlift in Ellmau and opening of the Mountain Theme Park "Ellmi's Zauberwelt". Opening of the Kaiser shop on the Brandstadl, village snowmaking system (cross country track) in Scheffau 2007 Construction of the Salvensee reservoir in Hopfgarten Installation go the snowmaking system for the "Hexenritt" toboggan run in Söll 2008 Construction of the "Choralmbahn" 8-seater monocable gondola in Westendorf Construction of the "SkiWeltbahn" 8-seater monocable gondola in Westendorf Construction of the "Salvenbahn II" 8-seater monocable gondola in Hopfgarten Construction of the "Siller – Keat" 6-seater chairlift in Söll Modification of the "Hartkaiserbahn" lift in Ellmau (controls) Summer expansion of the Jochstube reservoir from 70,000 m3 to 180,000 m3 in Scheffau Construction of the "Skiweltbahn" lift with snowmaking above the Kandleralm in Brixen 2009 Construction of the 6-seater chairlift, "Ellmi's 6er", and the Tanzboden reservoir with pumping station in Ellmau Construction of the Choralmbahn at SkiWelt Westendorf Construction of the Choralmbahn at SkiWelt Westendorf Construction of the Salvenbahn II at SkiWelt Hopfgarten Construction of the Salvenbahn II at SkiWelt Hopfgarten 2010-2011 2010 Construction of the "Osthangbahn" – detachable 8-seater chairlift with child safety bars, heated seats and lifting platform in Scheffau. 2011 New Moon toboggan run in Söll – open nights only – length 3.5 km Expansion of the Astberg reservoir in Going and new platter lift on the nursery slope Expansion of the Hopfgarten valley run (no. 20) SkiMovie route on the Südhang slope in Scheffau Free WiFi on SkiWelt mountains Construction of the "Osthangbahn" at SkiWelt Brixen 2012-2022 2021 SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental and KitzSki opened the longest ski circuit (85 km) in the world connecting the SkiWelt with the KitzSki ski area in winter 2021. Ski Resorts Brixen im Thale The Sonnberg Chairlift was extended up to found the Sonnberg area of the resort in 1970. In 1986, a new Gondola lift was built as a replacement for this chairlift. In 1995, the company was transformed into a stock company. The main shareholders are: Bergbahnnen Sheffau GmbH & Co. (85.28%) and the Schilifte (ski lift operators). They have 60 employees in the winter season. Ellmau-Going The roots of the Ellmau area of this resort can be traced back to the setting up of the one-seater chairlift, Sessellift Postbauer, which had 4 ski runs and a toboggan run attached to it. Then, in 1970, Bergbahnnen Ellmau mbH was founded to pursue winter sports facilities in the town. They constructed the Hartkaiser cable railway. This has since been replaced with a 10-seater gondola. They joined the Wilder Kaiser-Brixental ski area in 1985. In 1998, Bergbahnnen Ellmau mbH merged with Bergbahnnen Going mbH, and renamed themselves Bergbahnnen Ellmau-Going GmbH & Co. Hartkaiserbahn KG. Hochsöll A GmbH was first established in 1959, and they built a drag lift. Today, 2 gondolas stretch from Söll to the Hohe Salve. The Hochsöll area also has the Skiwelt's largest night-skiing area, fully floodlit skiing can occur after 5pm. Hopfgarten - Itter - Kelchsau In 1946 a Ges.mbH was registered in Hopfgarten to build a chairlift. They succeeded in 1949, building the third, and longest ropeway in Tirol. In 1985, Bergbahnnen Hopfgarten merged with Schilifte Itter by the ratio 72:28, reflecting the pistes and lifts owned. In 1991, the company acquired Schilifte Kelchsau, and then, in 1997 declared bankruptcy. In 2008, they went into the red again, only to be saved by 200 shareholders. This was indirectly linked to the development of the Salvenbahn II gondola lift that stretched up to the Hohe Salve. Kelchsau is only connected by skibus to the rest of the SkiWelt. Scheffau Bergbahnnen Scheffau GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1962. They operate mostly as a link between the Ellmau-Going area in the east, and Brixental or Hochsöll in the west. They have an annual turnover of somewhere in the region of EUR 11 million. A lot of the major Skiwelt constructions have happened in the Scheffau area, or to connect the Scheffau area up with the rest of the Skiwelt. Some examples include: The new Alumbahn (Scheffau) - an 8-seater, heated and covered chairlift, The new Jochbahn (Brixental) - another 8 seater, heated and covered chairlift and the Siller-KEAT (Hochsöll) - A 6-seater covered chairlift. In the summer season, there is a themed adventure park for kids situated between the exit to the Brandstadlbahn and the Gasthof Brandstadl. Westendorf The ski lift company was founded in 1946. Their first chairlift ran from the valley, near the village to the "Alpenrosenhütte on the Choralpe" on Mt. Nachtsöllberg. At over 2 km long, it was the longest chairlift in Austria at the time. A second (3 seater) chairlift was built 1969, with a middle-station. Pictures References